Without Falter
by Miaka
Summary: The thirteenth prince could still not believe his luck. Sure, there had been a few hiccups; well, there was the one in particular. (A brief one-shot of Hans's perspective at the end of the first film.)


The thirteenth prince could still not believe his luck. Sure, there had been a few hiccups; well, there was the one in particular.

A certain naive and freckly complication tried to wriggle herself upon his conscience, not unlike how she'd thrown herself at him in life. But he snuffed out the thought immediately. He locked it up in the coldest depths of his mind where she could never bother him again.

Things had not exactly gone according to plan or plan B. Still, everything had just... fallen into place. He had Elsa to thank for that. How funny that she ended up being his greatest obstacle and aid all in one. He could barely contain his pleasure when he shared the tragic details of Anna's demise and the queen's face paled with growing horror.

"I tried to save her, but it was too late." It was Elsa's fault, anyway. "Her skin was ice."

The only time he'd actually touched Anna was as he left her to her fate. That was Elsa's fault too.

"Her hair turned white..."

The queen's face fell as she shrank deeper into despair. Her shame was too delightful to stop picking away at her icy resolve. Hans relished in watching the cracks spread. How much will it take to shatter her, he wondered.

As much fun as he was having, the queen had made a further liability of herself by escaping the dungeon cell. Originally, he'd intended to convince Elsa to step down. He'd whisper suggestions to the right people and see that she was banished. But now that she was out here, with no witnesses around, he knew once and for all that fate was practically throwing the kingdom into his hands. He could put an end to the queen and her enchanted blizzard. The kingdom would probably thank him with the crown. He'd looked after them so well in Elsa's absence that he was the obvious choice.

How could he refuse such a gift?

He couldn't have saved Anna. That wasn't his fault. None of this would have happened if not for the snow queen. If only Elsa had left Arendelle long ago... then it would have been Anna's coronation. Anna could have lived. He might have even grown to care for her. He wouldn't deny she had a certain charm. But her charm also made her insufferable.

"Your sister is dead... because of you."

Anna's boisterous voice and hopeful eyes came back to him, much to his annoyance. He intended to keep the door to that part of him shut. The ice would have reached her heart by now. She was gone, and her witch of a sister would join her shortly.

He felt not a shred of pity when Elsa fell to her knees, completely broken. How could he sympathize with a monarch who cursed her own people and froze her own sister? Based on what Anna had shared with him, Elsa was no better than his twelve brothers. She was more dangerous though.

The falling snow and howling winds went still, suspended in the air all around him. Hans's eyes moved toward the nearest snowflake. He could have reached out and touched it, watched it melt in his hand.

Instead, his drew his sword. Now was the time to step up. Arendelle needed a hero, a savior. He couldn't have saved Anna, but he could save her people...

The real villain crumbled in on herself upon the ice. Grief distracted her just long enough for Hans to move. He drew his arm back and leered down at the fallen queen, his weapon raised to strike. All his life, he'd been told he wouldn't amount to much. Today was the day he would prove them all wrong. But the best part about all of this?

It wasn't that he would be king. It wasn't that he would take down a powerful snow witch. It wasn't even the looks on his family's faces when they eventually would come to offer their condolences and alliance.

The best part was simply the fact that he'd gotten away with it all. If he'd hesitated back in the library... if he'd tried some other way to help Anna...

He quickly shoved those thoughts aside as his sword began its downward swipe. Again, he pushed them as deep into his grey matter as possible. Down went his steel in its steady path for the queen's back.

Hans thought he heard something off to the left, but he ignored it. Too late, the confusing, shouting image of his fiance appeared in front of him. He thought he was imagining things. He did not stop. He couldn't have stopped. He drove his sword down as the ghost of Anna held her hand up... as if she could shield Elsa.

As if she could stop him.

Still, the shock he felt when she appeared was borne not of anger, but relief. He hadn't saved her, but he hadn't killed her. She hadn't died. She refused to die. Now, here she was, attempting the impossible yet again. He should have been enraged, but it happened too quickly.

The impact of his steel on her frozen mass struck him so fiercely that the blade shattered and flung him back. He hit his head, the world gone to him in an instant.

He couldn't have been out long. But when he woke, he found dry, wooden floorboards beneath him. He grabbed for the nearest support to hoist himself up, finding he was aboard one of the ships. The sun was out over Arendelle and the fjord was no longer frozen.

Someone approached as he struggled up to his feet, his gloved hand on his aching jaw. He looked up and faltered.

"Anna?"

It was really her. She was alive, but she couldn't be...? That was twice she should have died now.

"But she froze your heart..."

"The only frozen heart around here is yours."

She turned her nose up and started to turn away from him. But next he knew, she whirled on him, her fist ramming into his face. He stumbled against the ship rail and fell back, barely able to brace himself before he fell into the fjord.

Still, as he and all his foiled plans plunged into the water, he couldn't muster up an ounce of anger toward the woman who'd just put him there. She had saved him; not completely, but enough.

And she'd never know it.

* * *

 **A/N:** Just a short, impulsive dive into Hans's head from his final scenes in the first film. I was just building on the idea that once he'd decided he was going to abandon Anna and keep Arendelle, there was no going back for him, he had to follow through. Even if there was a part of his mind that wasn't totally comfortable with what he was doing. He just kept justifying his actions. But in the end, Anna wasn't dead. And in his own warped, villainy logic, he considers himself saved by that fact.


End file.
